As Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla assists the Prince of Wales on his official duties. She is also the patron, president and a member of numerous charities and organisations. Since 1994, she has taken action on osteoporosis, earning honours and awards. She has also raised awareness in areas including rape and sexual abuse, literacy, animal welfare and poverty.[1][2]

Camilla is often described as having had an "Enid Blyton sort of Childhood". In fact, it was much grander than that. Camilla, as a little girl, may have had some personality traits of George, the tomboy girl among the Famous Five, but Enid Blyton’s children were essentially middle-class children and The Shands, without question, belonged to the upper class. The Shands had position and they had help—help in the house, help in the garden, help with children. They were gentry. They opened their garden for the local Conservative Party Association summer fête. Enough said.[14]

On 25 March 1965, Camilla was a debutante in London,[22] one of 311 that year. After moving from home, she shared a small flat in Kensington with her friend Jane Wyndham, niece of decorator Nancy Lancaster. She later moved into a larger flat in Belgravia, which she shared with her landlady Lady Moyra Campbell, the daughter of the Duke of Abercorn, and later with Virginia Carington, daughter of the politician Lord Carrington.[23] Virginia was married to Camilla's uncle Henry Cubitt from 1973 until 1979[24] (and in 2005 she would become a special aide to Camilla and Prince Charles).[25] Camilla worked as a secretary for a variety of firms in the West End and was later employed as a receptionist by the decorating firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler in Mayfair.[26] In her spare time, she became a passionate horse-rider and frequently attended equestrian activities.[27] She also had a passion for painting, which eventually led to her private tutoring with an artist, although most of her work "ended up in the bin".[28] Other interests were fishing, horticulture and gardening.[29][30]

In December 1994, after 21 years of marriage, Camilla and her husband both filed for a divorce on the grounds they had been living separately for years. In July of that year, her mother Rosalind had died from osteoporosis, and her father later described this as a "difficult time for her".[42] Their petition was heard and granted in January 1995 at the High Court Family Division in London.[43] The divorce was finalised in March 1995.[44]

Camilla and Prince Charles reportedly met in mid-1971.[45] Andrew Parker Bowles had ended his relationship with Camilla in 1970 and was courting Princess Anne, Charles's sister.[46] Though they both belonged to the same social circle and occasionally attended the same events, they had not formally met. Their biographer Brandreth states the couple did not first meet at a polo match, as it has been commonly believed.[47][48] Instead, they first met at the home of their friend Lucia Santa Cruz, who formally introduced them.[49][27][50] They became close friends and eventually began seeing one another, which was well known within their social circle.[51] When they became a couple, they regularly met at polo matches at Smith's Lawn in Windsor Great Park, where Charles often played polo.[27][45] They also became part of a set at Annabel's in Berkeley Square.[45] As the relationship grew more serious, Charles met Camilla's family in Plumpton and he introduced her to some members of his family.[52] The relationship was put on hold after Charles travelled overseas to join the Royal Navy in early 1973; however, it ended abruptly afterward.[33][53]

There have been different statements on why the couple's relationship ended in 1973. Robert Lacey wrote in his 2008 book, Royal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, that Charles had met Camilla too early, and that he had not asked her to wait for him when he went overseas for military duties.[54]Sarah Bradford wrote in her 2007 book, Diana, that a member of the close circle of his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten claimed Mountbatten arranged for Charles to be taken overseas to end the relationship with Camilla to make way for an engagement between Charles and his granddaughter Amanda Knatchbull.[55] Some sources suggest Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother did not approve of the marriage because she wanted Charles to marry one of the Spencer family granddaughters of her close friend, Lady Fermoy.[56] Other sources also suggest Camilla did not want to marry Charles but instead wanted to marry Andrew Parker Bowles since she had an on and off relationship with Parker Bowles that began in the late 1960s[57] or that Charles had decided he would not marry until he was thirty years old.[58]

Overall, the majority of royal biographers have agreed that even if Charles and Camilla wanted to marry or did try for approval to get married, it would have been declined, because according to Charles's cousin and godmother Patricia Mountbatten, some palace courtiers at that time found Camilla unsuitable as a wife for the future king. In 2005, she stated, "With hindsight, you can say that Charles should have married Camilla when he first had the chance. They were ideally suited, we know that now. But it wasn't possible."[...][59] "it wouldn't have been possible, not then."[...][60] When Charles heard of the engagement of Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, he wrote to Lord Mountbatten: "I suppose the feeling of emptiness will pass eventually."[61] Nevertheless, they remained friends.[62][63] In August 1979, Lord Mountbatten was assassinated by the IRA. Charles was grief-stricken by his death and allegedly relied heavily on Camilla for solace. During this period, rumours began circulating among close friends of the Parker Bowles and polo playing communities that they had rekindled their intimate relationship.[64] A source close to Camilla confirmed that by 1980 they had indeed rekindled as lovers.[65] However, there are also claims by royal staff it occurred earlier.[66] Reportedly, Camilla's husband approved of the affair,[67] while he had numerous lovers throughout their marriage.[68][69] In 1981, Charles married Lady Diana Spencer.[70]

The affair became public knowledge in the press a decade later, with the publication of Diana: Her True Story in 1992,[71] followed by the Camillagate tape scandal in 1993,[72] wherein an intimate telephone conversation between Camilla and Charles was secretly recorded and the transcripts were published in the tabloids.[73] The book and tape immediately damaged Charles's public image.[74] Meanwhile, the media vilified Camilla.[75] In 1994, Charles finally spoke about his relationship with Camilla in a televised interview with Jonathan Dimbleby. He told Dimbleby in the interview, "Mrs. Parker Bowles is a great friend of mine...a friend for a very long time. She will continue to be a friend for a very long time."[76] He later admitted in the interview that the relationship between him and Camilla rekindled after his marriage had "irretrievably broken down" in 1986.[77][78] Following this, the Parker Bowleses jointly filed for a divorce later that year, having been living apart for some time,[76] and a year later, Andrew Parker Bowles married Rosemary Pitman (who died in 2010).[79][80]

Following both of their divorces, Prince Charles declared his relationship with Camilla was, and is, "non-negotiable".[81][82]
Charles was aware that the relationship was receiving a lot of negative publicity, and appointed Mark Bolland—whom he had employed in 1995 to refurbish his own image‍—‌to enhance Camilla's public profile.[83] Camilla occasionally became Charles's unofficial companion at events. In 1999, the couple made their first public appearance together at the Ritz Hotel in London, where they attended a birthday party; about two hundred photographers and reporters from around the world were there to witness them together.[84] In 2000, she accompanied Charles to Scotland for a number of official engagements, and in 2001, she became president of the National Osteoporosis Society, which first introduced her to the public.[85]

Camilla later met the Queen, for the first time since the relationship was made public, at the 60th birthday party of the former King of Greece, Constantine II. This meeting was seen as an apparent seal of approval by the Queen on Charles and Camilla's relationship.[86][87] After a series of appearances at public and private venues, the Queen invited Camilla to her Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002. She sat in the royal box behind the Queen for one of the concerts at Buckingham Palace.[88][89] Although Camilla maintained her residence, Ray Mill House, which she purchased in 1995, near Lacock in Wiltshire,[90] she then moved into Clarence House, Charles's household and official residence since 2003.[91]
In 2004, Camilla accompanied Charles on almost all of his official events, including a high-profile visit together to the annual highland games in Scotland.[92] Throughout, the media speculated on when they would announce their engagement and as time went by, polls conducted in the UK showed overall support for the marriage.[93]

On 10 February 2005, Clarence House announced that Camilla and the Prince of Wales were engaged; as an engagement ring, Charles gave Camilla a diamond ring that was believed to have been given to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, when she gave birth to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.[94] The ring comprises a square-cut diamond with three diamond baguettes on each side.[95]
As the future Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the prospect of Charles marrying a divorcée was seen as controversial, but with the consent of the Queen,[96] the government,[97] and the Church of England, the couple were able to wed. The Queen, Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, offered their best wishes in statements to the media.[98]

The marriage was to have been on 8 April 2005, and was to take place in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle, with a subsequent religious service of blessing[99] at St George's Chapel. However, to conduct a civil marriage at Windsor Castle would oblige the venue to obtain a licence for civil marriages, which it did not have. A condition of such a licence is that the licensed venue must be available for a period of one year to anyone wishing to be married there, and as the royal family did not wish to make Windsor Castle available to the public for civil marriages, the venue was changed to the town hall at Windsor Guildhall.[100] On 4 April, it was announced that the marriage would be delayed by one day to allow the Prince of Wales and some of the invited dignitaries to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.[101][102]

Neither Charles's parents nor Camilla's father attended the marriage ceremony;[103] instead, Camilla's son and Charles's son Prince William acted as witnesses to the union.[104] The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh did attend the service of blessing. Afterwards, a reception was held by the Queen for the newlyweds at Windsor Castle.[105] Performers included the St George's Chapel Choir, Philharmonia Orchestra and Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott.[106] As a wedding gift, The Marinsky Theatre Trust in St. Petersburg brought a Russian mezzo-soprano singer, Ekaterina Semenchuk, to the UK to perform a special song for the couple.[107] Following the wedding, the couple travelled to the Prince's country home in Scotland, Birkhall,[108] and carried out their first public duties together during their honeymoon.[109]

After their wedding, Clarence House became the official residence of both the Duchess and the Prince of Wales. The couple also stay at Birkhall for holiday events, and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire for family gatherings. In 2008, they took up residence at Llwynywermod, Wales, where they stay on their visit to Wales every year in the summer and for other occasions.[114] To spend time alone with her children and grandchildren, the Duchess still maintains her home Ray Mill House, in which she resided from 1995 to 2003.[115] The Duchess of Cornwall has three ladies-in-waiting, including long-time friend Amanda MacManus, who is her chief lady-in-waiting and also her assistant private secretary.[116][117][118]

In November 2010, the Duchess and her husband were indirectly involved in the 2010 British student protests when their car was attacked by protesters.[119][120] Clarence House later released a statement on the incident: "A car carrying Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall was attacked by protesters but the couple were unharmed."[121]
On 9 April 2012, the seventh wedding anniversary of the Duchess and the Prince of Wales, the Queen appointed the Duchess to the Royal Victorian Order.[122] In 2015, the Prince of Wales commissioned a pub to be named after the Duchess situated at Poundbury village. The pub opened in 2016 and is named the Duchess of Cornwall Inn.[123][124] On 9 June 2016, the Queen appointed the Duchess as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.[125] She is the first British princess by marriage to be appointed in such position.[126]

NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni welcomes the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to NIH for a discussion on osteoporosis with Surgeon General Richard Carmona and other health officials, November 2005

In 1994, the Duchess became a member of the National Osteoporosis Society after her mother died painfully from the disease that year. Her maternal grandmother also died from the disease in 1986. She became patron of the charity in 1997 and was appointed president in 2001 in a highly publicised event, accompanied by the Prince of Wales.[171] In 2002, she launched a mini book, A Skeleton Guide to a Healthy you, Vitamins and Minerals which aims to help women protect themselves from the disease.[172][173] The following month, she attended the Roundtable of International Women Leaders to Examine Barriers to Reimbursement for Diagnosis and Treatment of Osteoporosis conference along with 13 eminent women from around the world. The event was organised by the International Osteoporosis Foundation and hosted by Queen Rania of Jordan and during it, she made her first public speech. The international conference which took place in Lisbon, Portugal, brought together worldwide public figures to focus on osteoporosis treatment and called for government assistance around the world.[174] In 2004, she attended another conference in Dublin, organised by the Irish Osteoporosis Society and the following year visited the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, U.S. to give a presentation on osteoporosis to high-profile health figures.[175]

In 2006, the Duchess launched the Big Bone walk campaign, leading 90 children and osteoporosis sufferers for a 10-mile walk and climb around Loch Muick at the Balmoral Estate in Scotland to raise money for the charity.[176] The campaign raised £200,000 and continues almost every year as one of the fundraisers for the charity.[177] In 2011, she appeared in the BBC Radio drama The Archers, playing herself,[178] to raise the profile of the disease, and in 2013 teamed up with the television series Strictly Come Dancing to raise funds for the National Osteoporosis Society.[179] By 2006 she had spoken at more than 60 functions on the disease in the UK and around the world and had also opened bone scanning units and osteoporosis centres to help sufferers of the disease.[171] Almost every year, the Duchess attends and partakes in World Osteoporosis Day, by attending events around the UK on 20 October.[180] She continues to attend conferences around the world and meets with health experts to further discuss the disease.[181][182]

For her work on raising awareness of osteoporosis around the world, the Duchess was honoured with an Ethel LeFrak award in 2005 from an American charity[183] and received the Kohn Foundation Award in 2007 from the National Osteoporosis Society.[184][185] In July 2007, the Duchess opened the Duchess of Cornwall Centre for Osteoporosis at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro.[186][187] The same year, King's College London awarded her an honorary fellowship for raising the profile of osteoporosis.[188] In 2009, the National Osteoporosis Society created The Duchess of Cornwall Award, which recognises achievements in the field of osteoporosis.[189] In 2016, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Southampton. In 2019, the National Osteoporosis Society was renamed as the Royal Osteoporosis Society.[190]

After visiting nine rape crisis centres in 2009 and hearing accounts from survivors, the Duchess began raising awareness and advocating ways to help victims of rape and sexual abuse to overcome and move past their trauma. According to The Times, "The stories Her Royal Highness heard on her first visit and the stories she heard subsequently have left her with a strong desire to raise awareness about rape and sexual abuse and to try to help those affected."[191] She often speaks to victims at a rape crisis centre in Croydon and visits other centres to meet staff and victims, around the UK and during overseas tours.[192][193] In 2010, alongside Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, she opened a centre in Ealing, West London for rape victims. The centre later expanded to other areas including Hillingdon, Fulham, Hounslow, and Hammersmith.[194] In 2011, the Duchess opened the Oakwood Place Essex Sexual Assault Referral Centre at Brentwood Community Hospital in Essex.[195]

In 2013, she held a meeting at Clarence House which brought together rape victims and rape support groups. Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Theresa May were guests at the occasion. At the occasion, she introduced a plan to help the victims: about 750 wash-bags, created by her Clarence House staff and packed with luxury toiletries, were distributed to victims at the centres. The Duchess thought of the gesture after she visited a centre in Derbyshire and asked victims what they would like to help them feel at ease after the trauma and forensic examinations. According to Clarence House, the event was the first meeting of high-profile figures to focus exclusively on rape and sexual abuse subjects.[193][196] The same year, the Duchess travelled to Northern Ireland and opened The Rowan, a sexual assault and referral centre at Antrim Area Hospital[197] which was the first centre to provide help and comfort to rape and sexual abuse victims in Northern Ireland.[198] In May 2014, during the Royal Tour of Canada, the Duchess privately met with two women who had left violent homes and were provided long-term support and shelter by Alice House of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.[199][200] In March 2016, during a tour to the Western Balkans with her husband, the Duchess visited UNICEF programmes in Montenegro and while there, she discussed child sexual abuse and was shown an exclusive preview of a new app designed to protect children from online sexual abuse.[201] The following year, the Duchess partnered with retail and pharmacy chain Boots to create a line of wash-bags which will be given to sexual assault referral centres around the UK.[202]

Being an avid reader, the Duchess is an advocate for literacy. She is the patron of the National Literacy Trust and other literacy charities. She often visits schools, libraries and children organisations to read to young children. Additionally, she partakes in literacy celebrations, including International Literacy Day and World Book Day.[204] In 2011, she attended the Hay Festival to support children literacy and while there, she donated books to the Oxfam bookshop.[205] The same year, she donated money to support the Evening Standard's literacy campaign.[206] The Duchess has also launched and continues to launch campaigns and programmes to promote literacy.[207][208] On spreading literacy the Duchess stated during a speech at an event for the National Literacy Trust in 2013, "I firmly believe in the importance of igniting a passion for reading in the next generation. I was lucky enough to have a father who was a fervent bibliophile and a brilliant storyteller too. In a world where the written word competes with so many other calls on our attention, we need more Literacy Heroes to keep inspiring young people to find the pleasure and power of reading for themselves."[209] Since 2015, the Duchess has been involved with 500 Words, a competition launched by BBC Radio 2 for children to write and share their stories[210] and was announced as the competition's honorary judge in 2018.[211]

The Duchess is a supporter of animal welfare and patron of many animal welfare charities including Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and president of Brooke Hospital for Animals.[212] She often visits other animal shelters to show her support and to see how the animals are cared for. In 2011, she adopted a rescue puppy, a Jack Russell Terrier from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home,[213] and in 2012 adopted another from the shelter.[214] Also in 2012, she opened two veterinary facilities at the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences at Langford, Somerset, which will provide treatment to sick animals.[215] In 2015, Camilla teamed up with department store Fortnum & Mason to sell a limited edition of 250 jars of honey, which were produced by bees that reside in her private garden in Wiltshire. The Duchess honey jars sold for £20 a jar and were hugely successful, selling out in two weeks at the store.[216] Sales of the Duchess of Cornwall honey were all donated to support the Medical Detection Dogs charity, of which she is patron.[217]

The Duchess supports organisations that battle around the world on poverty and homelessness. She is the patron of Emmaus UK, and in 2013 during her solo trip to Paris, she went to see the efforts and works done by the charity in the city. Every year around Christmas, she visits Emmaus communities across the UK.[20] To help battle these issues, the Duchess is a staunch supporter of credit unions,[218] which she states is a "real force for change in the financial landscape, serve the people, not profit" and "provide a friendly financial community where members mutually benefit from advice, as well as savings accounts and loans."[219] She also supports healthy-eating, anti-FGM,[220]arts and heritage related organisations and programmes.[160]

In the years after her marriage, the Duchess of Cornwall has developed her own style and tried outfits and ensembles by notable fashion designers.[221][222] She is said to prefer "signature tea and shirt dress styles" and favours "tones of nude, white and navy" and "round necklines".[221] She has also been praised for her jewellery collections.[223] In 2018, Tatler named her on its list of Britain's best dressed people, praising her for her hat choices which have given "millinery a good name".[224]

Since her marriage to the Prince of Wales, Camilla has been styled as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall". The exception is Scotland, where she is styled as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay". She also bears the title Countess of Chester.[225]

On the Duchess's 58th birthday, Clarence House announced that Camilla had been granted by the Queen a coat of arms for her own personal use. It was reported that the Queen, Charles, and Camilla all took a "keen interest" in the arms' creation, and they were prepared by Peter Gwynn-Jones, Garter Principal King of Arms.[248] The Duchess's coat of arms impalethe Prince's main coat of arms to the dexter, with her father's coat of arms to the sinister.[249]

Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langed azure 2nd or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent (the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom), the whole difference with a label of three points Argent; with an inescutcheon of four lions passant guardant, in gold and red, counterchanged, surmounted by the coronet of the heir (for the Principality of Wales); impaled with a shield of Azure a Boar's Head erased close Argent armed and langued Or on a Chief engrailed Argent between two Mullets Gules a Cross crosslet fitchy Sable.[249]

Supporters

Dexter: a lion rampant gardant Or crowned with the coronet of the heir, differenced with a label of three points Argent; sinister: a Boar Azure armed and unguled Or langued Gules and gorged with a Coronet composed of crosses formy and fleurs-de-lys attached thereto a Chain reflexed over the back and ending in a ring all Or.[249]

Aside from the invention of a boar supporter (reflected in her paternal arms) for the sinister side, Camilla's coat of arms is entirely consistent with the historical heraldic arrangement for a married woman who is not a heraldic heiress.

Previous versions

Previous versions were depicted without the Royal Victorian Order, to which she was appointed in 2012.

^Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair by biographer Gyles Brandreth depicts Charles and Camilla's relationship as controversial due to its longevity and throughout the book shows the media's interest and representation to the public.

^Some sources report that she was born in Plumpton, but it seems that this is a confusion of her childhood home with her birthplace.

^"The Royal Title that Camilla and Princess Diana Shared". Harper's Bazaar. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019. When she married Prince Charles, "Camilla was not popular or well liked, [though] this has changed a lot since the marriage as Camilla has taken on a lot of patronages and Charles is a lot happier," [Marlene] Koenig says. "Still, [there was] a lot of tension and anger among a certain element of the population—so it was decided that Camilla would be styled as the Duchess of Cornwall, even though, of course, she is the Princess of Wales."